School Segregation Ecological Analysis

Author

Mateo Frumholtz

Published

November 9, 2024

Segregation Metrics

Unless otherwise noted, the segregation metric used across most of these analysis is the Normalized Exposure Index. Refer to the School Segregation Index Descriptive Report tab for more information on the various indices.

Ecological Data Variables

The reference table below will serve as the list of variables for the figures represented in correlation analysis. Please reference this table as needed to identify variables across those figures.

tbl-vars

Variable List and Source for Ecological Analysis, 2001-2022
Variable Description Data Source
p_b Percent Black NCES
p_h Pecent Hispanic/Latin@ NCES
p_wh Percent white NCES
p_frl Percent free/reduced lunch NCES
wb_nei White/Black Normalized Exposure Index Stanford Education Opportunity
p_nt Percent FTE's that are new teachers PELSB
p_exp15 Percent of FTE's with 1 to 5 years of experience PELSB
p_nogr Percent of FTE's with no graduate degree PELSB
p_4gr Percent of students that graduate in four years?? MDE
p_4dr Percent of students that drop out after four years?? MDE
p_me_m3 Percent of students that meet or exceed 3rd grade MCA math scores MDE
p_me_r3 Percent of students that meet or exceed 3rd grade MCA reading scores MDE
p_me_m7 Percent of students that meet or exceed 7th grade MCA math scores MDE
p_me_r7 Percent of students that meet or exceed 7th grade MCA reading scores MDE
p_me_m11 Percent of students that meet or exceed 11th grade MCA math scores MDE
p_me_r10 Percent of students that meet or exceed 10th grade MCA reading scores MDE

Distributions of Ecological Variables

The figures below are show the distribution of the variables used in the correlation matrices. Most of the annual distributions are similar and thus we only present the distributions for one year. They are stratified by level of school as not every variable is applicable to all levels (i.e. 3rd grade MCA scores only apply to elementary/primary schools). Only schools across the Twin Cities metro with at least 50 students are represented.

Cross-Sectional Correlation Matrices

Elementary Schools

Note

The correlation matrix below shows elementary schools in the Twin Cities metro area with at least 50 students. Some of the PELSB measures are not available in 2003 so they were removed from the analysis for those years.

See ?@tbl-vars for the list of variables.

We can also look at Figure 1 to see the trends over time.

Middle Schools

Note

The correlation matrix below shows middle schools in the Twin Cities metro area with at least 50 students. Some of the PELSB measures are not available in 2003 so they were removed from the analysis for those years.

High Schools

Note

The correlation matrix below shows high schools in the Twin Cities metro area with at least 50 students. Some of the PELSB measures are not available in 2003 so they were removed from the analysis for those years.

Correlations Over Time

Elementary Schools

Note

The figure below represents the pearson correlation coefficient between the faceted variable (i.e. the variable at the top of each chart) and the variable for each colored line. Every variable is not available across all years.

Figure 1: Correlations over time for TC Metro Elementary Schools, 2001-2022

Middle Schools

Note

The figure below represents the pearson correlation coefficient between the faceted variable (i.e. the variable at the top of each chart) and the variable for each colored line. Every variable is not available across all years.

Correlations over time for TC Metro Middle Schools, 2001-2022

High Schools

Note

The figure below represents the pearson correlation coefficient between the faceted variable (i.e. the variable at the top of each chart) and the variable for each colored line. Every variable is not available across all years.

Figure 2: Correlations over time for TC Metro High Schools, 2001-2022

In 2022, the typical (measured as a mean) Black child goes to a school that has X% free reduced lunch, and Y years of average teacher experience. In contrast, the typical white child goes to a school that has X% free reduced lunch, and Y years of average teacher experience.

How do you conceptualize “typical”? Did you just take the population weighted mean?

Do more segregated schools have teachers with less experience or education?

MCA/Testing